Sony Spruces Up the AIBO Family

The new, self-charging AIBO gets some holiday colors, face recognition, and even its own skateboard.

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Sony will not be adding any pups to its AIBO line of entertainment robots this holiday season. But the good news is that the second generation of the ERS-210, the Sony AIBO ERS-210A ($1,299 list), will be available in new colors and will recognize its master's face and voice. Sony will also sell a nifty, dog-sized skateboard called the Speed Board ($249). The most significant upgrade, though, is the pup's new, software-enabled ability to plug itself into its charger ($99).

Since the AIBO's introduction in 1999, owners have requested that it be given self-charging capabilities. Now the ERS-210 series will recognize when its battery is low, seek out the charging station, position itself on it, and charge up. A Sony official explained that this will make AIBO "a continuous 24-hour pet."

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The other major announcement is the addition of software that lets the ERS-210 recognize its owner's face out of a group of up to five people and respond to its master's voice. Previously, the AIBO responded to commands, but now it will seek out its master when it hears the person's voice.

Recognition is a CPU-intensive task, so Sony has doubled the AIBO CPU speed to 384 MHz in the ERS-210A. Owners of the current ERS-210 can still use the newest software, though. For $99, you can download the update from Sony's Web site and add it to the AIBO's Memory Stick. New AIBOs will include a 16MB Memory Stick (double the capacity of Memory Sticks included with earlier models) with the new software preinstalled.

The Speed Board is a metallic mini-skateboard/scooter that includes handles for the pup to rest its front paws on and four-wheel steering that's controlled by the handles. When positioned on the scooter, the ERS-210 propels itself forward with its rear paws andwith instructions from its ownersteers. We saw the upgraded AIBO in action at the PC Magazine offices (at one point, it propelled itself right off our meeting table). The speed board will be available sometime next month.

A 25-year industry veteran and award-winning journalist, Lance Ulanoff is the former Editor in Chief of PCMag.com.
Lance Ulanoff has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases, ?on line? meant ?waiting? and CPU speeds were measured in single-digit megahertz. He?s traveled the globe to report on a vast array of consumer and business technology.
While a digital veteran, Lance spent his early years writing for newspapers and magazines. He?s been online since 1996 and ran Web sites for three national publications: HomePC, Windows Magazine...
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